Immersive Interactive Telepresence

ABSTRACT

In embodiments of immersive interactive telepresence, a system includes a vehicle that captures an experience of an environment in which the vehicle travels, and the experience includes audio and video of the environment. User interactive devices receive the audio and the video of the environment, and each of the user interactive devices represent the experience for one or more users who are remote from the environment. A trajectory planner is implemented to route the vehicle based on obstacle avoidance and user travel intent as the vehicle travels in the environment. The trajectory planner can route the vehicle to achieve a location objective in the environment without explicit direction input from a vehicle operator or from the users of the user interactive devices.

BACKGROUND

Remotely controlled vehicles have become increasingly popular,particularly with respect to mobilized robots, land rovers, and unmannedaerial vehicles (UAVs), also commonly referred to as “drones”.Typically, these types of vehicles include a camera or cameras thatallow video of the environment in which a vehicle operates to becaptured and transmitted back to an operator of the vehicle for displayon a display screen at the operator's location. This provides a firstperson view of what the operator would see if he or she were at thevehicle's location, or traveling on the vehicle. These types of remotelycontrolled vehicles typically have a one-to-one correspondence, orpairing, between the operator and the vehicle for teleoperation, where auser input is communicated to the vehicle, which then performsaccordingly. Other types of systems only provide a user withtelepresence, where the user may simply watch video and/or hear audio ofa remote environment, but without being able to control the vehicle,device, or system sending back the video and audio of the remoteenvironment.

SUMMARY

This Summary introduces features and concepts of immersive interactivetelepresence, which is further described below in the DetailedDescription and/or shown in the Figures. This Summary should not beconsidered to describe essential features of the claimed subject matter,nor used to determine or limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Immersive interactive telepresence is described. In embodiments, asystem includes a vehicle that captures an experience of an environmentin which the vehicle travels, and the experience includes audio andvideo of the environment. The vehicle may be any type of a drone, asubmersible, a land rover, a mobilized computing device, a human cameracarrier, and/or any other type of a camera transport. User interactivedevices receive the audio and the video of the environment, and each ofthe user interactive devices represent the experience for one or moreusers who are remote from the environment. A trajectory planner isimplemented to route the vehicle based on obstacle avoidance and usertravel intent as the vehicle travels in the environment. The trajectoryplanner can route the vehicle without step-by-step travel instructionsto achieve a location objective in the environment, such as withoutexplicit direction input from a vehicle operator or from the users ofthe user interactive devices. The trajectory planner can also determinethe user travel intent to route the vehicle based on previous vehiclerouting associated with the users of the user interactive devices, orbased on a user preference provided prior to a start of the vehicletraveling in the environment. The trajectory planner can then alter theroute of the vehicle in the environment based on the determined usertravel intent.

In other aspects, a vehicle can be commissioned by the users who areremote from the environment to capture the experience of an area ofinterest in the environment, where the area of interest is selected bythe users, or the area of interest is selected by the trajectory plannerbased on the user travel intent. The vehicle can be controlled based onthe trajectory planner receiving travel instructions from the users viathe user interactive devices for user directed travel of the vehicleand/or based on a vehicle operator in the environment of the vehicle whodirects the route of the vehicle.

In other aspects, a vehicle can include a camera system to capture thevideo as a wide angle view of the environment, and the video is routedto the user interactive devices where each of the users can view adifferent portion of the environment based on where a user is lookingwithin the wide angle view of the environment. The trajectory plannercan also route the vehicle in a steady motion effective to minimizemotion sickness of the users of the user interactive devices who arewatching the video.

In other aspects, a vehicle can be a virtual tourist guide in theenvironment and capture the experience of the environment as a virtualtour for the users of the user interactive devices. The trajectoryplanner is implemented to route the vehicle effective to facilitate thevirtual tour. In implementations, the vehicle is an aerial drone thatflies over a region of the environment to capture the experience of theregion for the users of the user interactive devices. Additional aerialdrones can each fly over a different region of the environment, and theaerial drone hands off the users to one of the additional aerial dronesthat captures the experience of a different region of the environmentfor the users of the user interactive devices. The trajectory plannercan initiate the handoff of the users to the additional aerial dronebased on the different region of the environment selected by the users,or the different region of the environment can be selected by thetrajectory planner based on the user travel intent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of immersive interactive telepresence are described withreference to the following Figures. The same numbers may be usedthroughout to reference like features and components that are shown inthe Figures:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system in which embodiments of immersiveinteractive telepresence can be implemented.

FIG. 2 further illustrates the example embodiments of immersiveinteractive telepresence.

FIG. 3 illustrates another example system in which embodiments ofimmersive interactive telepresence can be implemented.

FIG. 4 illustrates example method(s) of immersive interactivetelepresence in accordance with one or more embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates example method(s) of immersive interactivetelepresence in accordance with one or more embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example system with an example device that canimplement embodiments of immersive interactive telepresence.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of immersive interactive telepresence are described, and canbe implemented to provide a vehicle that captures an experience of anenvironment in which the vehicle travels, where the experience includesaudio and video of the environment (e.g., environment experience data)that can be represented as a virtual tour to a group of users on userinteractive devices. The vehicle that travels in the environment tocapture the environment experience data may be any type of a drone, asubmersible, a land rover, a mobilized computing device, a human cameracarrier, and/or any other type of a camera transport. User interactivedevices receive the audio and the video of the environment, and each ofthe user interactive devices represent the experience for one or moreusers who are remote from the environment.

The vehicle can travel in the environment based on obstacle avoidanceand user travel intent, where a trajectory planner can route the vehiclewithout step-by-step travel instructions to achieve a location objectivein the environment, such as without explicit direction input from avehicle operator or from the users of the user interactive devices. Thetrajectory planner can determine the user travel intent to route thevehicle based on previous vehicle routing associated with the users ofthe user interactive devices, or based on a user preference providedprior to a start of the vehicle traveling in the environment. Thetrajectory planner can then alter the route of the vehicle in theenvironment based on the determined user travel intent.

While features and concepts of immersive interactive telepresence can beimplemented in any number of different devices, systems, networks,environments, and/or configurations, embodiments of immersiveinteractive telepresence are described in the context of the followingexample devices, systems, and methods.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system 100 in which embodiments ofimmersive interactive telepresence can be implemented. The examplesystem 100 includes a vehicle 102, shown represented in this example asan unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), also commonly referred to as a drone.In implementations, the vehicle 102 can be any one or combination of adrone, a submersible, a land rover, a mobilized computing device, ahuman camera carrier, and/or any other type of a camera transport. Thevehicle is designed to capture an experience of the environment 104 inwhich the vehicle travels, where the experience includes audio and videoof the environment.

The vehicle 102 includes an audio system 106 (e.g., microphones and/orother audio detection equipment) to capture the audio of theenvironment. The vehicle also includes a camera system 108 that isimplemented to capture the video in two-dimensional or three-dimensionalspace of the environment in which the vehicle travels, such as whenflying as a drone, traveling over land or in a building structure as aland rover, traveling in water as a submersible (e.g., under water orfloating on top), or as any other vehicle implemented as a cameratransport. The camera system 108 can include one or more camera devices,and the camera devices can operate together to capture the video of theenvironment from a common viewpoint, or operate independently to eachcapture the video of the environment from a different viewpoint.

The example system 100 includes user interactive devices 110 thatreceive the audio and the video of the environment, as captured by theaudio system 106 and the camera system 108 of the vehicle 102. The userinteractive devices 110 can include viewing devices 112 and/orcontroller devices 114 for multiple users 116 of the devices. The userinteractive devices 110 receive the audio and the video of theenvironment from the vehicle 102, and represent the experience of theenvironment for one or more users 116 who are remote from theenvironment. In implementations, any of the users may be using differenttypes of the viewing devices 112, such as any type of a virtual realityheadset, virtual reality glasses, an augmented reality headset,augmented reality glasses, a mobile device with an integrated display,and/or a display device coupled to a computing device.

The example system 100 includes a cloud-based data service 118 thatimplements a trajectory planner 120 for the vehicle 102 as a computerapplication. The cloud-based data service is accessible by the userinteractive devices 110 via a network 122. Any of the devices, vehicles,servers, and/or services described herein can communicate via thenetwork, such as for video and data communication between the userinteractive devices 110 and the vehicle 102. The network can beimplemented to include a wired and/or a wireless network. The networkcan also be implemented using any type of network topology and/orcommunication protocol, and can be represented or otherwise implementedas a combination of two or more networks, to include IP based networksand/or the Internet. The network may also include mobile operatornetworks that are managed by a mobile network operator and/or othernetwork operators, such as a communication service provider, mobilephone provider, and/or Internet service provider.

The cloud-based data service 118 can include data storage that may beimplemented as any suitable memory, memory device, or electronic datastorage for network-based data storage. The data storage can maintain aninstance of the trajectory planner 120 as an on-line application (e.g.,as a network-based application) that is accessible by the userinteractive devices 10 as well as by the vehicles described herein, suchas the vehicle 102. The cloud-based data service 118 can also beimplemented with server devices that are representative of one ormultiple hardware server devices. Further, the cloud-based data servicecan be implemented with various components, such as a processing systemand memory, as well as with any number and combination of differingcomponents as further described with reference to the example deviceshown in FIG. 6 to implement the services, applications, servers, andother features of immersive interactive telepresence.

In implementations, the cloud-based data service 118 receives the audioand video 124 of the environment 104, as captured by the audio system106 and the camera system 108 of the vehicle 102, and can maintain theaudio and video of the environment as environment experience data 126.The user interactive devices 110 can receive the environment experiencedata 126 (e.g., the audio and video 124 of the environment) from thecloud-based data service 118, also referred to as the bridge between avehicle, such as the vehicle 102, and the user interactive devices 110.Additionally, the audio of the environment in which the vehicle 102travels is communicated to the user interactive devices 110 so that auser may both watch the video and listen to the corresponding audio fora realistic interactive telepresence in the environment 104 in which thevehicle travels. Additionally, the users of a group can talk betweeneach other to coordinate their actions and inputs to control the vehicle102.

In embodiments, the camera system 108 of the vehicle 102 is implementedto capture the video 124 as a wide angle view of the environment, andthe video is routed via the cloud-based data service 118 to the userinteractive devices 110. The camera system 108 can include cameradevices arranged to capture a wide angle spherical view (e.g., a 180degree view or a 360 degree view), along with the surround sound audio.In implementations, a fisheye camera attached to the vehicle 102 cancapture a stereo or mono wide angle field of view (e.g., a mono 120-180degree view). Alternatively, camera configurations may include multiplecamera devices, such as a pair of parallel fisheye, wide angle cameras(e.g., with 120-180 degree field of view), and having a baseline equalto an average human interpupillary distance (IPD) or distance betweeneye centers.

The multiple camera devices may also be arranged as a stereo polygon,with a set of stereo cameras having a baseline equal to human IPD, andthe stereo polygon arrangement may be a hexagon, square, or a halfhexagon. The multiple camera devices may also be arranged as a cameracircle, with wide angle cameras positioned in a circle, such as arrangedin a camera sphere, hemisphere, or the cameras arranged in a sphericalsetup (at dodecahedron vertices for example). The video data can bestacked into a combined frame (of several individual camera frames) andcompressed in H264 or H265/HEVC format. The audio data can also becompressed individually, such as for each microphone input, and theencoded video and audio data is communicated to the cloud-based dataservice.

The captured audio and video 124 from the environment 104 is streamed asa multi-cast distribution to the user interactive devices 110 (e.g.,virtual reality or augmented reality glasses) via the cloud-based dataservice 118. In implementations, the whole wide angle view of the videois streamed to the user interactive devices 110 without cropping itsfrustrum. This provides that each of the users 116 of the userinteractive devices 110 can view a different portion of the environmentbased on where a user is looking within the wide angle view of theenvironment. Each of the users 116 of the respective user interactivedevices 110 can have a unique, immersive view of the environment withaudio, even though the users all share the same video feed from theremote vehicle.

The environment can be virtually represented digitally with very lowlatency, and from any view point or head position of the users, and auser can freely look around with little or no rendering latency, whichcreates a real-time immersive interactive telepresence in theenvironment for the user. The generated, virtual representation of theenvironment 104 is digital, which eliminates the problems of control lagwith other systems that relay instructions to move the camera based on auser movement to view the environment from a different viewpoint. Theunidirectional aspect of the audio and video 124 being communicated fromthe vehicle 102 to the user interactive devices 110 also reducesbandwidth constraints and processing of the back-and-forth instructionsthat would otherwise be passed through the cloud-based data service 118with other systems.

In embodiments, the trajectory planner 120 is implemented by thecloud-based data service 118 to route the vehicle 102 based on obstacleavoidance 128 and user travel intent 130 as the vehicle 102 travels inthe environment 104. The trajectory planner 120 can also be implementedto route the vehicle 102 in a steady motion effective to minimize motionsickness of the users of the user interactive devices. Based on theobstacle avoidance 128 and the user travel intent 130, the trajectoryplanner 120 can route the vehicle 102 in the environment 104 withoutstep-by-step travel instructions, and can achieve a location objectivein the environment without explicit direction input from a vehicleoperator or from the one or more users of the user interactive devices.

For example, the trajectory planner 120 can determine the user travelintent 130 to route the vehicle 102 based on previous vehicle routingassociated with one or more of the users 116 of the user interactivedevices, and then alter the route of the vehicle in the environmentbased on the determined user travel intent. Alternatively or inaddition, the trajectory planner 120 can determine the user travelintent 130 to route the vehicle 102 based on a user preference providedprior to a start of the vehicle traveling in the environment, and alterthe route of the vehicle in the environment based on the determined usertravel intent. The user travel intent can be determined by thetrajectory planner 120 from the users' historical preferences, such aswhen previously virtually touring the environment. The user travelintent can also be determined from user preferences that are uploaded orcommunicated to the cloud-based data service 118, such as when a groupof the users set out to commission a vehicle for a virtual tour of theenvironment in which the vehicle travels and operates.

Overall, the trajectory planner 120 is implemented to route the vehicle102 in the environment 104 based on any one or combination of severalinputs, such as user preferences, user intent, environment constraints(e.g., collision and obstacle avoidance 128, remote sensor information,fly/no-fly zones, wayward points of travel, etc.), and reduction ofmotion sickness for the users who are watching the video on the userinteractive devices 110 (e.g., the viewing devices 112). Although thetrajectory planner 120 is shown and described in this example system 100as being implemented by the cloud-based data service 118, a vehicleitself may be implemented with the trajectory planner and implement thefunctions and aspects of the trajectory planner as described herein. Anexample of a vehicle that incorporates the trajectory planner is shownand described with reference to FIG. 3.

In embodiments, the vehicle 102 may be commissioned (e.g., borrowed,rented, and the like) by a group of the users 116 who are remote fromthe environment 104 to capture the experience of an area of interest inthe environment, where the area of interest is selected by the users, orthe area of interest selected by the trajectory planner 120 based on theuser travel intent 130, as discussed above. The vehicle 102 can then becontrolled in the environment 104 based on travel instructions that thetrajectory planner receives as user control commands 132 from the usersvia the user interactive devices 110 (e.g., the controller devices 114)for user directed travel of the vehicle. Alternatively or in addition,the vehicle 102 can be controlled in the environment 104 by a vehicleoperator who is also located in the environment (or who is local to theenvironment) and directs the route of the vehicle for the users, orcontributes vehicle control with the users. As further described withreference to FIG. 3, a group of the users 116 can interact with theremote environment collaboratively, in the context of crowdsourcing tocontrol camera movement to reposition the camera viewpoint, and/or tocontrol the vehicle travel to reposition the camera viewpoint.

For a borrowed, rented, or commissioned vehicle, such as an aerialdrone, a group of the users 116 can connect with a drone operator viathe cloud-based data service 118 (e.g., the bridge to connect thedevices), and the drone operator deploys the drone in a remote locationthat the user or users want to see virtually. As noted above, the groupof users can connect to the drone (e.g., the vehicle 102) over theInternet (e.g., the network 122) and can fly the drone from a firstperson view utilizing the user interactive devices 110. The remote droneoperator can intervene and take control over the drone at any point toprevent problems, such as for example communication link issues, latencyissues, regulations, collision and obstacle avoidance, etc.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example system 200 in which embodiments ofimmersive interactive telepresence can be implemented. In embodiments, avehicle as described herein can be utilized as a virtual tourist guidein an environment 202 to capture the experience as a virtual tour forthe users 116 of the user interactive devices 110, and the trajectoryplanner 120 can determine and control the vehicle route in theenvironment effective to facilitate the virtual tour. In this example,the environment 202 is the city of Paris, and several of the vehicles(e.g., vehicle 102, for example) are shown as aerial drones that flyover regions of the environment to capture the experience for the usersof the user interactive devices 110. Additionally, a drone operator mayserve as a tour guide by controlling a vehicle 102 as it travels in theenvironment.

The various vehicles, such as aerial drones 204 and 206, each fly over adifferent region of the city (e.g., the environment 202). As describedabove, any of the vehicles may include any one or combination of a drone(e.g., 204, 206), a submersible, a land rover, a mobilized computingdevice, a human camera carrier 208, and/or any other type of a cameratransport. In this example, the aerial drone 204 travels a designatedpath 210 along an outer boundary of the city, and the aerial drone 206travels along a path 212 between an end point of the aerial drone 204and the Eiffel Tower. In embodiments, the trajectory planner 120 of avehicle can initiate the handoff of the users to an additional aerialdrone based on the different region of the environment selected by theone or more users, or the different region of the environment can beselected by the trajectory planner based on the user travel intent 130.For example, users associated with the aerial drone 204 can be handedoff to the aerial drone 206 for the virtual tour experience of thedifferent region of the environment (e.g., to experience the EiffelTower in the city of Paris).

FIG. 3 illustrates an example system 300 in which embodiments ofimmersive interactive telepresence can be implemented. The examplesystem 300 includes a vehicle 302, such as the vehicle 102 shown anddescribed with reference to FIG. 1. In implementations, the vehicle 302may be any one or combination of an unmanned aerial vehicle (a drone), asubmersible, a land rover, a mobilized computing device, a human cameracarrier, and/or any other type of a camera transport. The vehicle 302includes a camera system 304 that is implemented to capture the video306 of the environment in which the vehicle travels, such as when flyingas a drone, traveling over land or in a building structure as a landrover, traveling in water as a submersible (e.g., under water orfloating on top), or as any other vehicle implemented as a cameratransport. The camera system 304 can include one or more camera devices,and the camera devices can operate together to capture the video 306 ofthe environment from a common viewpoint, or operate independently toeach capture the video of the environment from a different viewpoint.The vehicle 302 also includes an audio system 308 to capture thesurround sound audio 310 of the environment.

In this example, the vehicle 302 is implemented with various components,such as a processing system 312 and memory 314 (e.g., non-volatile,physical memory), and with any number and combination of differingcomponents as further described with reference to the example deviceshown in FIG. 6. Although not shown, the vehicle 302 includes a powersource, such as a battery, to power the various device components and apropulsion apparatus or system of the vehicle. Further, the vehicle 302is a wireless communication-enabled device with one or more wirelesssystems 316 implemented to support several radio access technologies,which may include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth™, Mobile Broadband, LTE, as well as802.11a/b/g/n/ac network connectivity technologies, and/or any otherwireless communication system or format. Generally, the vehicle 302includes a wireless communication system 316 that includes a radiodevice, antenna, and chipset that is implemented for wirelesscommunication with other devices, networks, and services.

The vehicle 302 also includes a travel control system 318 that controlsthe vehicle in the environment in which it travels. The travel controlsystem 318 integrates with the propulsion apparatus or system of thevehicle, and may implemented as software, firmware, hardware (e.g.,fixed logic circuitry, motor drives, etc.), or any combination thereof.Similarly, the camera system 304 may include a camera control system(not shown) that integrates to independently control the position ofcamera devices of the camera system on the vehicle, and the cameracontrol system processes the video for communication to the viewingdevices.

The vehicle 302 includes a trajectory planner 320, such as thetrajectory planner 120 for the vehicle 102 described with reference toFIG. 1. The trajectory planner 320 can be implemented as a softwareapplication or module, such as computer-executable software instructionsthat are executable with the processing system 312 to implementembodiments of immersive interactive telepresence. As indicated, thetrajectory planner 320 can be stored on computer-readable storage memory(e.g., the memory 314), such as any suitable memory device or electronicdata storage implemented in the vehicle. Additionally, the trajectoryplanner 320 is implemented in this example with a voting system 322 anda policy system 324. Although shown as integrated components or modulesof the trajectory planner 320, either or both of the voting system 322and the policy system 324 may be implemented independent of thetrajectory planner 320, either in the vehicle 302 and/or in otherdevices. The trajectory planner 320 also includes obstacle avoidance 326and user travel intent 328, as shown and described with reference toFIG. 1.

In embodiments, the trajectory planner 320 of the vehicle 102 (or thecloud-based data service 118) can be implemented with the policy systemand/or the voting system to generate a consensus travel instructionbased on each of the travel user inputs 338 counted as a user vote todirect the travel of the vehicle. The travel control system 318 of thevehicle 302 may also generate a voting input to the voting system 322 todirect the travel of the vehicle. In implementations, the voting inputof the travel control system 318 can be weighted to account forinstances when the consensus travel instruction that is generated basedon the group input is overridden, such as for obstacle avoidance by thevehicle. In addition, the policy system 324 of the trajectory planner320 may contribute to generate the consensus travel instruction based oneach of the travel user inputs 338 counted as a weighted vote to directthe travel of the vehicle.

As a matter of policy for example, some user inputs of proposed travelinstructions and/or proposed camera viewpoints may be weighted higher orlower based on user factors, such as whether the user appears tointentionally provide poor input, the age or experience of the user, askill level of the user with the particular type of vehicle, and anyother type of factor that may be considered when weighting user inputs.Additionally, the policy system may include a monetized aspect by whicha user can pay to control the vehicle, such as for a duration of time orfor a duration of travel, or the user may have his or her input weightedsignificantly greater than the other users of the group that arecontributing to the collaborative effort of camera viewpoint control forthe interactive telepresence experience.

The trajectory planner 320 and travel control system 318 of the vehicle302 may also be implemented to override a travel instruction that isgenerated based on the group input as a matter of policy for some otherundesirable travel result, such as a travel instruction to shut off anaerial drone while it is flying, or to avoid sudden and/or erraticmotions of the vehicle that may lead to motion sickness in the usersviewing the video of the environment. In some instances, the policysystem may override the voting system, as noted above, to prevent anundesirable outcome of the vehicle travel that would affect all of theusers of the group who are collaborating for an interactive telepresencein the environment in which the vehicle travels.

In embodiments, the trajectory planner 320 is implemented to route thevehicle 302 based on the obstacle avoidance 326 and the user travelintent 328 as the vehicle travels in the environment. The trajectoryplanner 320 can route the vehicle without step-by-step travelinstructions to achieve a location objective in the environment, such aswithout explicit direction input from a vehicle operator or from theusers of the user interactive devices. The trajectory planner 320 canalso determine the user travel intent 328 to route the vehicle 302 basedon previous vehicle routing associated with the users of the userinteractive devices, or based on a user preference provided prior to astart of the vehicle traveling in the environment. The trajectoryplanner can then alter the route of the vehicle in the environment basedon the determined user travel intent.

The example system 300 also includes the user interactive devices 330,such as the viewing devices 112 and associated controller devices 114that are shown and described with reference to FIG. 1. Similar to thevehicle 302 (e.g., in the context of a computing-enabled device), theuser interactive devices 330 can each be implemented with a processingsystem and memory (e.g., physical memory), as well as with a powersource (e.g., a battery) to power the device components. The memory canmaintain software applications, such as device applications and anoperating system of the device. Additionally, any of the userinteractive devices 330 can be implemented with any number andcombination of differing components as further described with referenceto the example device shown in FIG. 6. The user interactive devices 330can also be wireless communication-enabled devices with one or morewireless systems 332 implemented to support the several radio accesstechnologies described above.

The user interactive devices 330 also include some form of a videodisplay system 334 to display the video 306 that is captured by thecamera system 304 of the vehicle 302, and include an audio renderingsystem 336 to playback the audio 310 that is captured by the audiosystem 308 of the vehicle 302. The video 306 and the audio 310 (e.g.,the environment experience data 126) can be communicated to the userinteractive devices 330 from the vehicle 302 (e.g., via the network122), and the environment experience data 126 of the environment inwhich the vehicle travels can be rendered and displayed to therespective users of the user interactive devices. Alternatively, theenvironment experience data 126 can be communicated to the userinteractive devices 330 from the cloud-based data service 118, as shownand described with reference to FIG. 1.

As described, the camera system 304 of the vehicle 302 can also includea camera control system that processes the video 306 for communicationto the cloud-based data service 118 and/or to the user interactivedevices 330. In implementations, the video 306 is captured by thecameras of the camera system 304 and image frames of the video arestacked into a combined frame and converted to a YUV color space imageformat. The combined frame is then compressed as H.264 (e.g., the H.264protocol as discussed in the ITU-T H.264 Recommendation (February 2014))and sent over the network 122 (e.g., the Internet) in a real-timetransport protocol (RTP) package over user datagram protocol (UDP) orhyper-text transfer protocol (HTTP) to the cloud-based data service orto the user interactive devices (or utilizing the TCP/IP protocol toconnect the client devices and/or the camera system to a cloud-basedservice). The user interactive devices 330 can receive the RTP packageover UDP or HTTP, and the compressed H.264 frame is unpacked from theRTP package. The compressed frame is then uncompressed and converted tothe RGB color space format, which is displayed as the video on the videodisplay system 334 of a respective user interactive device.

As described above with reference to FIG. 1, the controller devices 114that are associated with the viewing devices 112 can be used for traveluser inputs 338 as a proposed travel instructions to the vehicle 302and/or as proposed camera viewpoints to reposition the camera system304, or a camera device of the camera system, that is transported by thevehicle. The group of users of the user interactive devices 330 cancollaborate to control the viewpoint of the camera system 304 that istransported by the vehicle 302 for an interactive telepresence in theenvironment in which the vehicle travels. The group of users caninteract with the remote environment collaboratively, in the context ofcrowdsourcing, to control camera movement to reposition the cameraviewpoint, and/or to control the vehicle travel to reposition the cameraviewpoint. The proposed travel instructions and the proposed cameraviewpoints that are the travel user inputs 338 can be collectivelycommunicated to the vehicle 302 as the user control commands 340.

In this example system 300, the trajectory planner 320 of the vehicle302 receives the collective user control commands 340 and can generate aconsensus travel instruction for the vehicle 302 based on the proposedtravel instructions. As described above, the trajectory planner 320implements the voting system 322 to generate the consensus travelinstruction based on each of the proposed travel instructions counted asa user vote to direct the travel of the vehicle. Similarly, thetrajectory planner 320 implements the policy system 324 to generate theconsensus travel instruction based on each of the proposed travelinstructions counted as a weighted vote to direct the travel of thevehicle. The trajectory planner 320 can then communicate the travelinstructions to the travel control system 318 effective to instruct thevehicle how to travel in the environment (e.g., any one or combinationof stop, brake, start, accelerate, turn-off the vehicle, turn-on thevehicle, travel up, travel down, turn left, turn right, turn around,rotate, travel forward, and travel back). Similarly, the trajectoryplanner 320 receives the collective user control commands 340 and cangenerate a consensus camera viewpoint to reposition one or more camerasof the camera system 304 based on the proposed camera viewpoints.

Example methods 400 and 500 are described with reference to respectiveFIGS. 4 and 5 in accordance with one or more embodiments of immersiveinteractive telepresence. Generally, any of the components, modules,methods, and operations described herein can be implemented usingsoftware, firmware, hardware (e.g., fixed logic circuitry), manualprocessing, or any combination thereof. Some operations of the examplemethods may be described in the general context of executableinstructions stored on computer-readable storage memory that is localand/or remote to a computer processing system, and implementations caninclude software applications, programs, functions, and the like.Alternatively or in addition, any of the functionality described hereincan be performed, at least in part, by one or more hardware logiccomponents, such as, and without limitation, Field-programmable GateArrays (FPGAs), Application-specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs),Application-specific Standard Products (ASSPs), System-on-a-chip systems(SoCs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), and the like.

FIG. 4 illustrates example method(s) 400 of immersive interactivetelepresence, and is generally described with reference to a vehiclethat transports audio and camera systems. The order in which the methodis described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and anynumber or combination of the method operations can be performed in anyorder to implement a method, or an alternate method.

At 402, an experience is captured of an environment in which a vehicletravels, the experience including audio and video of the environment.For example, the vehicle 102 includes the audio system 106 (e.g.,microphones and/or other audio detection equipment) to capture the audioof the environment 104, and the vehicle 102 includes the camera system108 that captures the video 124 in two-dimensional or three-dimensionalspace of the environment in which the vehicle travels, such as whenflying as a drone, traveling over land or in a building structure as aland rover, traveling in water as a submersible (e.g., under water orfloating on top), or as any other vehicle implemented as a cameratransport. The camera system 108 can include one or more camera devices,and the camera devices operate together to capture the video of theenvironment from a common viewpoint, or operate independently to eachcapture the video of the environment from a different viewpoint. Inimplementations, multiple cameras of the camera system 108 each capturethe video from a different viewpoint of the environment. Inimplementations, the video of the experience (e.g., a virtual tour) canbe captured as a wide angle view of the environment, such as by anaerial drone that flies over a region of the environment and capturesthe environment experience data 126 for one or more of the users 116 ofthe user interactive devices 110.

At 404, the audio and the video of the experience is communicated touser interactive devices that represent the experience for one or moreusers who are remote from the environment. For example, the vehicle 102communicates the audio and video 124 to the cloud-based data service 118(also referred to as the devices bridge), and the user interactivedevices 110 receive the audio and the video of the environment from thevehicle 102 via the cloud-based data service. The captured audio andvideo 124 from the environment 104 is streamed as a multi-castdistribution to the user interactive devices 110 (e.g., virtual realityor augmented reality glasses) via the cloud-based data service 118. Eachof the users 116 of the user interactive devices 110 can view adifferent portion of the environment based on where a user is lookingwithin the wide angle view of the environment, and each user can have aunique, immersive view of the environment with audio, even though theusers all share the same video feed from the remote vehicle. The userinteractive devices may be different types of devices, such as any typeof a virtual reality headset, virtual reality glasses, an augmentedreality headset, augmented reality glasses, a mobile device with anintegrated display, and/or a display device coupled to a computingdevice.

At 406, routing information for the vehicle is determined based onobstacle avoidance and user travel intent as the vehicle travels in theenvironment. For example, the trajectory planner 120 implemented by thecloud-based data service 118 routes the vehicle 102 based on obstacleavoidance 128 and user travel intent 130 as the vehicle 102 travels inthe environment 104. The trajectory planner 120 can also route thevehicle 102 in a steady motion effective to minimize motion sickness ofthe users of the user interactive devices. Based on the obstacleavoidance 128 and the user travel intent 130, the trajectory planner 120routes the vehicle 102 in the environment 104 without step-by-steptravel instructions, and can achieve a location objective in theenvironment without explicit direction input from a vehicle operator orfrom the one or more users of the user interactive devices.

At 408, the route of the vehicle in the environment is altered based onthe determined user travel intent. For example, the trajectory planner120 determines the user travel intent 130 to route the vehicle 102 basedon previous vehicle routing associated with one or more of the users 116of the user interactive devices, and then alters the route of thevehicle 102 in the environment 104 based on the determined user travelintent. Alternatively or in addition, the trajectory planner 120determines the user travel intent 130 to route the vehicle 102 based ona user preference provided prior to a start of the vehicle traveling inthe environment, and alters the route of the vehicle 102 in theenvironment 104 based on the determined user travel intent.

At 410, the travel control system of the vehicle is instructed as to howthe vehicle is to travel in the environment based on the routinginformation. For example, the trajectory planner 120 communicatesrouting information to the travel control system 318 effective toinstruct the vehicle how to travel (e.g., any one or combination ofstop, brake, start, accelerate, turn-off the vehicle, turn-on thevehicle, travel up, travel down, turn left, turn right, turn around,rotate, travel forward, and travel back). The trajectory planner 120routes the vehicle 102 in the environment 104 based on any one orcombination of several inputs, such as user preferences, user intent,environment constraints (e.g., collision and obstacle avoidance 128,remote sensor information, fly/no-fly zones, wayward points of travel,etc.), and reduction of motion sickness for the users who are watchingthe video on the user interactive devices 110 (e.g., the viewing devices112). Optionally, the method 400 can continue at 402 to capture theenvironment experience data.

FIG. 5 illustrates example method(s) 500 of immersive interactivetelepresence, and is generally described with reference to userinteractive devices. The order in which the method is described is notintended to be construed as a limitation, and any number or combinationof the method operations can be performed in any order to implement amethod, or an alternate method.

At 502, a user preference is communicated to virtually experience anenvironment that is remote from a user. For example, a user interactivedevice 110 is utilized to communicate a user preference, such as a usertravel intent 130, to the cloud-based data service 118 to initiate avirtual experience of an environment that is remote from a user. Theexperience of the environment can be a virtual tour that is representedwith the user interactive device 110 for the user, and the vehicle 102is a virtual tourist guide being routed in the environment 104 effectiveto facilitate the virtual tour, where the vehicle can alter the route inthe environment based on the determined user travel intent.

At 504, audio and video is received of an experience captured in theenvironment in which a vehicle travels a route based on obstacleavoidance and user travel intent as determined from the user preference,the vehicle including a camera system that captures the video as a wideangle view of the environment. For example, the user interactive devices110 receive the audio and the video of the environment from the vehicle102 via the cloud-based data service. The captured audio and video 124from the environment 104 is streamed as a multi-cast distribution to theuser interactive devices 110 (e.g., virtual reality or augmented realityglasses) via the cloud-based data service 118.

At 506, the experience of the environment is represented for the userwith the user interactive device. For example, each of the users 116 ofthe user interactive devices 110 can view a different portion of theenvironment based on where a user is looking within the wide angle viewof the environment video, and each user can have a unique, immersiveview of the environment with the surround audio, even though the usersall share the same video feed from the remote vehicle. Inimplementations, any of the users may be using different types of theuser interactive devices 110, such as any type of a virtual realityheadset, virtual reality glasses, an augmented reality headset,augmented reality glasses, a mobile device with an integrated display,and/or a display device coupled to a computing device. Optionally, themethod 500 can continue at 504 to receive the environment experiencedata.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example system 600 that includes an example device602, which can implement embodiments of immersive interactivetelepresence. The example device 602 can be implemented as any of thecomputing devices, user devices, vehicles (e.g., in the context of acomputing device), and server devices described with reference to theprevious FIGS. 1-5, such as any type of mobile device, wearable device,client device, mobile phone, tablet, computing, communication,entertainment, gaming, media playback, and/or other type of device. Forexample, the viewing devices, controller devices, and/or vehiclesdescribed herein may be implemented as the example device 602 or withvarious components of the example device.

The device 602 includes communication devices 604 that enable wiredand/or wireless communication of device data 606, such as the video datacaptured by a camera system that is transported by a vehicle, audio datacaptured by an audio system of the vehicle, as well as the proposed usertravel inputs and proposed camera viewpoints. Additionally, the devicedata can include any type of audio, video, and/or image data. Thecommunication devices 604 can also include transceivers for cellularphone communication and for network data communication.

The device 602 also includes input/output (I/O) interfaces 608, such asdata network interfaces that provide connection and/or communicationlinks between the device, data networks, other devices, and the vehiclesdescribed herein. The I/O interfaces can be used to couple the device toany type of components, peripherals, and/or accessory devices. The I/Ointerfaces also include data input ports via which any type of data,media content, and/or inputs can be received, such as user inputs to thedevice, as well as any type of audio, video, and/or image data receivedfrom any content and/or data source.

The device 602 includes a processing system 610 that may be implementedat least partially in hardware, such as with any type ofmicroprocessors, controllers, and the like that process executableinstructions. The processing system can include components of anintegrated circuit, programmable logic device, a logic device formedusing one or more semiconductors, and other implementations in siliconand/or hardware, such as a processor and memory system implemented as asystem-on-chip (SoC). Alternatively or in addition, the device can beimplemented with any one or combination of software, hardware, firmware,or fixed logic circuitry that may be implemented with processing andcontrol circuits. The device 602 may further include any type of asystem bus or other data and command transfer system that couples thevarious components within the device. A system bus can include any oneor combination of different bus structures and architectures, as well ascontrol and data lines.

The device 602 also includes a computer-readable storage memory 612,such as data storage devices that can be accessed by a computing device,and that provide persistent storage of data and executable instructions(e.g., software applications, programs, functions, and the like).Examples of the computer-readable storage memory 612 include volatilememory and non-volatile memory, fixed and removable media devices, andany suitable memory device or electronic data storage that maintainsdata for computing device access. The computer-readable storage memorycan include various implementations of random access memory (RAM) (e.g.,the DRAM and battery-backed RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory,and other types of storage media in various memory deviceconfigurations.

The computer-readable storage memory 612 provides storage of the devicedata 606 and various device applications 614, such as an operatingsystem that is maintained as a software application with thecomputer-readable storage memory and executed by the processing system610. In this example, the device applications include a trajectoryplanner 616 that implements embodiments of immersive interactivetelepresence, such as when the example device 602 is implemented as avehicle as described herein with reference to FIGS. 1-3, or as part ofthe cloud-based data service 118 shown and described with reference toFIG. 1. Examples of the trajectory planner 616 include the trajectoryplanner 120 implemented by the cloud-based data service 118, and thetrajectory planner 320 in the vehicle 302, as described with referenceto FIGS. 1-5.

The device 602 also includes an audio and/or video system 618 thatgenerates audio data for an audio device 620 and/or generates displaydata for a display device 622. The audio device and/or the displaydevice include any devices that process, display, and/or otherwiserender audio, video, display, and/or image data. In implementations, theaudio device and/or the display device are integrated components of theexample device 602. Alternatively, the audio device and/or the displaydevice are external, peripheral components to the example device.

In embodiments, at least part of the techniques described for immersiveinteractive telepresence may be implemented in a distributed system,such as over a “cloud” 624 in a platform 626. The cloud 624 includesand/or is representative of the platform 626 for services 628 and/orresources 630. The platform 626 abstracts underlying functionality ofhardware, such as server devices (e.g., included in the services 628)and/or software resources (e.g., included as the resources 630), andconnects the example device 602 with other devices, servers, vehicles632, etc. The resources 630 may also include applications and/or datathat can be utilized while computer processing is executed on serversthat are remote from the example device 602. Additionally, the services628 and/or the resources 630 may facilitate subscriber network services,such as over the Internet, a cellular network, or Wi-Fi network. Theplatform 626 may also serve to abstract and scale resources to service ademand for the resources 630 that are implemented via the platform, suchas in an interconnected device embodiment with functionality distributedthroughout the system 600. For example, the functionality may beimplemented in part at the example device 602 as well as via theplatform 626 that abstracts the functionality of the cloud.

Although embodiments of immersive interactive telepresence have beendescribed in language specific to features and/or methods, the appendedclaims are not necessarily limited to the specific features or methodsdescribed. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed asexample implementations of immersive interactive telepresence, and otherequivalent features and methods are intended to be within the scope ofthe appended claims. Further, various different embodiments aredescribed and it is to be appreciated that each described embodiment canbe implemented independently or in connection with one or more otherdescribed embodiments. Additional aspects of the techniques, features,and/or methods discussed herein relate to one or more of the followingembodiments.

A system implemented for immersive interactive telepresence, the systemcomprising: a vehicle configured to capture an experience of anenvironment in which the vehicle travels, the experience comprising atleast audio and video of the environment; user interactive devicesconfigured to receive the audio and the video of the environment, eachof the user interactive devices configured to represent the experiencefor one or more users who are remote from the environment; and atrajectory planner configured to route the vehicle based on obstacleavoidance and user travel intent as the vehicle travels in theenvironment.

Alternatively or in addition to the above described system, any one orcombination of: The trajectory planner is configured to route thevehicle in the environment without step-by-step travel instructionsreceived from the one or more users of the user interactive devices. Thetrajectory planner is configured to route the vehicle to achieve alocation objective in the environment without explicit direction inputfrom a vehicle operator or from the one or more users of the userinteractive devices. The trajectory planner is configured to: determinethe user travel intent to route the vehicle based on previous vehiclerouting associated with the one or more users of the user interactivedevices; and alter the route of the vehicle in the environment based onthe determined user travel intent. The trajectory planner is configuredto: determine the user travel intent to route the vehicle based on auser preference provided prior to a start of the vehicle traveling inthe environment; and alter the route of the vehicle in the environmentbased on the determined user travel intent. The vehicle is commissionedby the one or more users who are remote from the environment to capturethe experience of an area of interest in the environment, the area ofinterest selected by the one or more users or the area of interestselected by the trajectory planner based on the user travel intent. Thevehicle is controlled based on at least one of: the trajectory plannerreceives travel instructions from the one or more users via the userinteractive devices for user directed travel of the vehicle; or avehicle operator in the environment of the vehicle who directs the routeof the vehicle. The vehicle is a virtual tourist guide in theenvironment configured to capture the experience as a virtual tour forthe one or more users of the user interactive devices; and thetrajectory planner is configured to said route the vehicle effective tofacilitate the virtual tour. The vehicle is an aerial drone configuredto fly over a region of the environment to capture the experience of theregion for the one or more users of the user interactive devices; andthe system further comprising one or more additional aerial drones eachconfigured to fly over a different region of the environment, the aerialdrone configured to handoff the one or more users to one of theadditional aerial drones that captures the experience of the differentregion of the environment for the one or more users of the userinteractive devices. The trajectory planner is configured to initiatethe handoff of the one or more users to the additional aerial dronebased on the different region of the environment selected by the one ormore users, or the different region of the environment selected by thetrajectory planner based on the user travel intent. The vehicle includesa camera system configured to capture the video as a wide angle view ofthe environment; and the video is routed to the user interactive deviceswhere each of the one or more users can view a different portion of theenvironment based on where a user is looking within the wide angle viewof the environment. The trajectory planner is configured to said routethe vehicle in a steady motion effective to minimize motion sickness ofthe one or more users of the user interactive devices.

A method for immersive interactive telepresence implemented by a vehiclecomprises: capturing an experience of an environment in which thevehicle travels, the experience comprising at least audio and video ofthe environment; communicating the audio and the video of the experienceto user interactive devices that represent the experience for one ormore users who are remote from the environment; receiving routinginformation for the vehicle based on obstacle avoidance and user travelintent as the vehicle travels in the environment; and instructing atravel control system of the vehicle how to travel in the environmentbased on the routing information.

Alternatively or in addition to the above described method, any one orcombination of: Determining the routing information for the vehicle toachieve a location objective in the environment without explicitdirection input from a vehicle operator or from the one or more users ofthe user interactive devices. Determining the user travel intent toroute the vehicle based on previous vehicle routing associated with theone or more users of the user interactive devices; and altering theroute of the vehicle in the environment based on the determined usertravel intent. Determining the user travel intent to route the vehiclebased on a user preference provided prior to a start of the vehicletraveling in the environment; and altering the route of the vehicle inthe environment based on the determined user travel intent. Flying overa region of the environment and said capturing the experience of theenvironment for the one or more users of the user interactive devices;and handing off the one or more users to an additional vehicle thatflies over a different region of the environment and captures theexperience of the different region of the environment for the one ormore users of the user interactive devices. Capturing the video of theexperience as a wide angle view of the environment; and saidcommunicating the video to the user interactive devices where each ofthe one or more users can view a different portion of the environmentbased on where a user is looking within the wide angle view of theenvironment.

A method for immersive interactive telepresence implemented at a userinteractive device comprises: communicating a user preference tovirtually experience an environment that is remote from a user of theuser interactive device; receiving audio and video of an experiencecaptured in the environment in which a vehicle travels a route based onobstacle avoidance and user travel intent as determined from the userpreference, the vehicle including a camera system that captures thevideo as a wide angle view of the environment; and representing theexperience of the environment for the user with the user interactivedevice, the experience including displaying a portion of the environmentbased on where the user is looking within the wide angle view of theenvironment.

Alternatively or in addition to the above described method, any one orcombination of: The experience of the environment is a virtual tourrepresented with the user interactive device for the user; and thevehicle is a virtual tourist guide being routed in the environmenteffective to facilitate the virtual tour, the vehicle configured toalter the route in the environment based on the determined user travelintent.

1. A system implemented for immersive interactive telepresence, thesystem comprising: a vehicle configured to capture an experience of anenvironment in which the vehicle travels, the experience comprising atleast audio and video of the environment; user interactive devicesconfigured to receive the audio and the video of the environment, eachof the user interactive devices configured to represent the experiencefor one or more users who are remote from the environment; and atrajectory planner configured to route the vehicle based on obstacleavoidance and user travel intent as the vehicle travels in theenvironment.
 2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the trajectoryplanner is configured to route the vehicle in the environment withoutstep-by-step travel instructions received from the one or more users ofthe user interactive devices.
 3. The system as recited in claim 1,wherein the trajectory planner is configured to route the vehicle toachieve a location objective in the environment without explicitdirection input from a vehicle operator or from the one or more users ofthe user interactive devices.
 4. The system as recited in claim 1,wherein the trajectory planner is configured to: determine the usertravel intent to route the vehicle based on previous vehicle routingassociated with the one or more users of the user interactive devices;and alter the route of the vehicle in the environment based on thedetermined user travel intent.
 5. The system as recited in claim 1,wherein the trajectory planner is configured to: determine the usertravel intent to route the vehicle based on a user preference providedprior to a start of the vehicle traveling in the environment; and alterthe route of the vehicle in the environment based on the determined usertravel intent.
 6. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the vehicleis commissioned by the one or more users who are remote from theenvironment to capture the experience of an area of interest in theenvironment, the area of interest selected by the one or more users orthe area of interest selected by the trajectory planner based on theuser travel intent.
 7. The system as recited in claim 6, wherein thevehicle is controlled based on at least one of: the trajectory plannerreceives travel instructions from the one or more users via the userinteractive devices for user directed travel of the vehicle; or avehicle operator in the environment of the vehicle who directs the routeof the vehicle.
 8. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein: thevehicle is a virtual tourist guide in the environment configured tocapture the experience as a virtual tour for the one or more users ofthe user interactive devices; and the trajectory planner is configuredto said route the vehicle effective to facilitate the virtual tour. 9.The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the vehicle is an aerial droneconfigured to fly over a region of the environment to capture theexperience of the region for the one or more users of the userinteractive devices; and the system further comprising: one or moreadditional aerial drones each configured to fly over a different regionof the environment, the aerial drone configured to handoff the one ormore users to one of the additional aerial drones that captures theexperience of the different region of the environment for the one ormore users of the user interactive devices.
 10. The system as recited inclaim 9, wherein the trajectory planner is configured to initiate thehandoff of the one or more users to the additional aerial drone based onthe different region of the environment selected by the one or moreusers, or the different region of the environment selected by thetrajectory planner based on the user travel intent.
 11. The system asrecited in claim 1, wherein: the vehicle includes a camera systemconfigured to capture the video as a wide angle view of the environment;and the video is routed to the user interactive devices where each ofthe one or more users can view a different portion of the environmentbased on where a user is looking within the wide angle view of theenvironment.
 12. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein thetrajectory planner is configured to said route the vehicle in a steadymotion effective to minimize motion sickness of the one or more users ofthe user interactive devices.
 13. A method for immersive interactivetelepresence implemented by a vehicle, the method comprising: capturingan experience of an environment in which the vehicle travels, theexperience comprising at least audio and video of the environment;communicating the audio and the video of the experience to userinteractive devices that represent the experience for one or more userswho are remote from the environment; receiving routing information forthe vehicle based on obstacle avoidance and user travel intent as thevehicle travels in the environment; and instructing a travel controlsystem of the vehicle how to travel in the environment based on therouting information.
 14. The method as recited in claim 13, furthercomprising determining the routing information for the vehicle toachieve a location objective in the environment without explicitdirection input from a vehicle operator or from the one or more users ofthe user interactive devices.
 15. The method as recited in claim 13,further comprising: determining the user travel intent to route thevehicle based on previous vehicle routing associated with the one ormore users of the user interactive devices; and altering the route ofthe vehicle in the environment based on the determined user travelintent.
 16. The method as recited in claim 13, further comprising:determining the user travel intent to route the vehicle based on a userpreference provided prior to a start of the vehicle traveling in theenvironment; and altering the route of the vehicle in the environmentbased on the determined user travel intent.
 17. The method as recited inclaim 13, further comprising: flying over a region of the environmentand said capturing the experience of the environment for the one or moreusers of the user interactive devices; and handing off the one or moreusers to an additional vehicle that flies over a different region of theenvironment and captures the experience of the different region of theenvironment for the one or more users of the user interactive devices.18. The method as recited in claim 13, further comprising: capturing thevideo of the experience as a wide angle view of the environment; andsaid communicating the video to the user interactive devices where eachof the one or more users can view a different portion of the environmentbased on where a user is looking within the wide angle view of theenvironment.
 19. A method for immersive interactive telepresenceimplemented at a user interactive device, the method comprising:communicating a user preference to virtually experience an environmentthat is remote from a user of the user interactive device; receivingaudio and video of an experience captured in the environment in which avehicle travels a route based on obstacle avoidance and user travelintent as determined from the user preference, the vehicle including acamera system that captures the video as a wide angle view of theenvironment; and representing the experience of the environment for theuser with the user interactive device, the experience includingdisplaying a portion of the environment based on where the user islooking within the wide angle view of the environment.
 20. The method asrecited in claim 19, wherein: the experience of the environment is avirtual tour represented with the user interactive device for the user;and the vehicle is a virtual tourist guide being routed in theenvironment effective to facilitate the virtual tour, the vehicleconfigured to alter the route in the environment based on the determineduser travel intent.